Motorbike riders want access to cycle lanes

The World Today - Friday, 7 July , 2006 12:46:00

Reporter: Kirsten Veness

ELEANOR HALL: If you're riding along in the bike lane in the near future you may want to fit a rear vision mirror.

Motorcycle riders now want to be allowed to join pushbike riders in the cycle lanes, so they don't get held up by the traffic.

They've promised to go easy on the throttle and keep their speed to safe limits.

But pedal pushers are nervous about sharing their lanes with their supercharged relatives, as Kirsten Veness reports.

KIRSTEN VENESS: The chances are if you live in a big city you have experienced the frustration of gridlock traffic.

Politicians and experts of all stripes have their own views on how the ease the problem. But it's an unlikely source that has come up with the latest idea.

DALE MAGGS: We'd like to see sharing applied throughout all states of Australia for cycling lane ways.

We all know when we're out on the road, if we can select a portion of the road which is not utilised by other vehicles, it places us in a safer position and most of the time these pushbike lanes aren't being utilised, and we feel it's a safer area also to ride.

KIRSTEN VENESS: That's Dale Maggs. He's the head of the Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia.

He's not suggesting high-powered high-octane bikes cruise at full speed. He says motorbikes would ride at a maximum 30 kilometres an hour.

DALE MAGGS: We believe that it will help alleviate congestion, and it certainly will add to the safety aspects of riding for a motorcyclist.

KIRSTEN VENESS: But the thought of sharing with vehicles more powerful than many mid-size cars has some cyclists very alarmed.

TONY SHIELDS: If you were in a cycle lane and you were going along and a 1,000cc motorcycle comes up behind you, it's probably not the greatest experience in the world. It can be somewhat unnerving, so I think it probably would discourage people a bit.

KIRSTEN VENESS: Tony Shields is from Pedal Power, a cycling group based in Canberra.

Apart from his safety worries, Mr Shields is even sceptical the plan would ease traffic congestion.

Motorcyclists are not expecting the idea to be fast-tracked, but they're hoping it will gain traction and not to mention "higher revs", with higher fuel prices forcing more car-drivers to switch over to two wheels.